Air compression system of variable radiation capacity



Juhe13,1939. LEML N ET AL 2,162,148

AIR COMPRESSION SYSTEM OF VARIABLE RADIATION CAPACITY ATTORNEY.

I Patented. June 13, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- AIR COMPRESSIONSYSTEM OF VARIABLE RADIATION CAPACITY Lyndon F. Wilson and John M.hammedce, chicago, Ill., assignors to Wilson Engineering Corporation,Chicago, Ill ware a cq 'lwration of Dela- Application August 31, 1938,Serial No. 227,696

.4 Claims.

posed to the surrounding atmospheric temperatures. The atmospheric airtaken into the compressor varies widely not only in temperature but inhumidity. Consequently, the condition of the 1 air when compressedvaries accordingly in tem-- perature and humidity.

Condensation in a compressed air system becomes of vital importancewhere the system is subjected to freezing temperatures for the reasonthe storage reservoir or at the control valves, the system is renderedimmediately inoperative, and serious accidents as the result of brakeapplication failure may result. A similar hazard is, of

25 course, presented if the condensate freezes in the line ahead of thestorage reservoir, that is, between .the compressor and the reservoir.

In order to prevent condensation and consequent freezing in the supplyline from the reservoir, modern practice requires that the compressedair be cooled-enroute to the reservoir so that it will reachapproximately its lowest temperature in the reservoir where thecondensate may be collected and drained 01f without inter;

35 fel'ing with the operation of the system. With this end in view, anair cooled radiator or cooler is customarily interposed in the linebetween the compressor and the reservoir, but in order to in sureagainst the freezing up of this line as the result of productionofiexcessive condensation therein, the capacity of; the radiator is solimited that when subjected to the lowest expected atmospherictemperature, the compressed air and 5 condensate wlllstill enter thereservoir at a temperature above freezing.

As a result of this restricted radiator capacity,

the system when operating under high atmospheric temperatures is veryineflicient because 50 the temperature of the atmospheric air taken intothe compressor is raised substantially by the act of comp on, and sincethe radiator capacity is, for the reason above mentioned, insumoienttodissipate all or even a large part of the 55 heat of compression, theenters the reservoir designed for pressed air system employed iscontinuously exthat if the condensate freezes in the line beyond may beelectrically driving (01. so s-1) considerably above atmospherictemperature. The efl'ective capacity of the reservoir is accordinglydiminished in accordance with the increased temperature, and the air inthe supply line from I 1 the reservoir being further cooled enroute toits 5 point of use loses pressure as it is reduced in temperature,"thereby becoming less efiective for the required operating purposes. I

The ideal condition for hot weather operation is to dissipate all theheat of compression before 0 the air reaches'the reservoir, and for coldweather operation to dissipate only so much of the heat of compressionaswill leave the air-and condensate entering the reservoir at atemperature slightly above freezing so as to obviate danger of stoppageby freezing of the supply pipe to the reservoir.

The purpose of our presentinvention is to approach as nearly aspracticable such ideal operating conditions by providing a variablecapacity radiator which, under cold weather operation, will dissipateonly a safe amount of heat from the compressed air, and in hot weatheroperation will, due-to its increased capacity, dissipate as much aspossibleof the,heat of compression before the compressedair enters thereservoir.

On the accompanying drawing, we have shown for j illustrative, purposesmerely those embodiments of our invention which at present appear .tobemost practical, but it should be understood that these embodiments areillustrative merely. and are not intended to circumscribe the scope ofour inventionas defined in the claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view somewhat schematic in. character of a compressionsystem embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is a Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a similar view of a modified form'of 40 the invention.

-Referrlng to the drawing more in detail, r'efer-. ence character 5indicates generally an air compressor of any standard or preferred typewhich or otherwise driven, a steam being hereillustrated asthe Thecompressedalr storage reservoir indicated by reference character! may beof any preferred shape and dimensions, the com-- pressed air from thisreservoir being delivered'to sectional view on the line 2-2 of actuatedmotor the point of use through a delivery pipe 8, Conensationaccumulatingin the reservoir may be drawn on at intervals through thecock 9. The compressed air is delivered to the reserand adapted todissipate heat of compression from the compressed air passingtherethrough.

While the radiating units may be of any preierred construction, we haveshown here for illustrative purposes an efllcient and satisfactory typeof unit comprising a relatively narrow body It or cast iron or the likeequipped with a series of radiating fins l8 cast integrally with thebody and preferably formed of a high heat conductivity material such asaluminum. These units are designed to efliciently dissipate the excessheat'irom the compressed air enroute from the compressor to the storagereservoir.

It will be observed that in Fig. 1 the units'are shown asinterp'osed inthe supply line in'parallel so that substantially equal proportions ofthe compressed air will pass through each unit when the plug valve "H inthe branch I3 is open.

For hot weather operation, this valve is open so that the full radiatingcapacity of the two units may be utilized. These units constitute ineffect a single large heat dissipating radiator interposed in the supplyline to the reservoir. The aggregate radiating capacity of the unitsillustrated is such that substantially all of the heat of compression isdissipated from the,air. The air accordingly is delivered to thereservoir at substantially atmospheric temperature which contributesmaximum efllciency. Ii, because of space limitations or other reasons,two radiator units are insufllcient for the required purposes, one ormore. additional branch pipes equipped with similar units may beconnected in the line between the compressor and the reservoir.

In other words, our invention contemplates the utilization of as manyheat radiating units as may be necessary or desirable in any particularinstallation, and any or all of them may be equipped with shut-oilvalves so that the capacity of the radiator as a whole may be varied tomeet existing conditions by shutting oil one or more of the valves tothereby reduce the radiating capacity.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 3, the two radiator units ll,illustrated, instead of being connected in the supply line H in parallelare connected in series, and a shunt line I8 around one-oi the units iscontrolled by a three-- way valve I! by manipulation of which the comairmay be delivered directly through both units for hot weather operationor shunted around one unit for cold weather operation. Ad-

ditional radiator units may also be employed in this type of hook-up,and shunt lines and valves may be employed to cut out one or more ofsuch units as occasion'requires.

' compressor;

,one of said heat radiating diating units in series It should beapparent from the foregoing that we have provided an air compressionsystem having a variable radiation capacitywhich can be regulated andcontrolled so as to conform to atmospheric temperature variations andproduce a maximum efliciency in operation under all conditions andwithout danger of injury as the result of freezing of the system,

The structural details shown for illustrative purposes may obviously bevaried within wide limits without exceeding the scope of the intendedclaims.

We claim:

1. A variable radiation air compression apparatus for railway air brakesystems comprising, an air compressor; a compressed air storagereservoir for supplying air to a braking apparatus; and means forunobstructedly delivering compressed air from the compressor to thereservoir and for cooling said air en route, said means including aplurality of radiation units, a pipe system, and a control valve wherebythe air maybe directed through one or more of said units to vary theradiation capacity of said system at will.

2. In afsystem for supplying compressed air for braking purposes, thecombination of: a a storage reservoir for compressed air; a plurality ofheat radiating units and piping connecting 'allel between saidcompressor and reservoir for cooling the compressed air en route to saidreservoir; and a valve connected in said piping arranged to control theflow of compressed air to units, whereby the flow of compressed airthrough said unit may be cut oil.

3. A system for supplying compressed air for braking purposescomprising, a compressor; 'a

said heat radiating units in par-' reservoir for compressed air; aplurality of heat 1 connecting said heat rabetween said compressor andreservoir; a shunt pipe line around one of said heat radiating unitsconnected with said radiating units; piping piping; and a valveconnected with said shunt line and disposed between two heat radiatingunits for cutting out one of said heat radiating units and directingflow through said shunt line. 4. In a system for-supplying compressedair for braking purposes, the combination of: a compressor; a storagereservoir for compressed air; a plurality of heat radiating units andpiping connecting said heatradiating units with said compressor andreservoir for cooling the compressed air en route to the reservoir and avalve connected in said piping arranged to control the flow ofcompressed air 7 heat radiatingrunits, whereby the flow of compressedair through said unit may be cut oil. LYNDON F. WILSON.

JOHN M. LAMMEDEE.

to one of saidv

